Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Declines in December

Ag producer sentiment dropped in December according to the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, falling 7 points lower than in November. Jim Mintert, the director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, explains what stood out in this month’s report.

“Producers are concerned about current conditions on their farm operations but remain relatively optimistic about the long-term future with respect to their operations.”

The ag barometer has been serving as a tool to measure producer sentiment since May 2016. Chris Grams is the Senior Director of Corporate Communications with CME Group in Chicago. He explains why these numbers are important to producers.

“Something that is really important when there’s a great deal of uncertainty as there is today, is for producers to be able to look at something like the barometer and get a sense of what is sentiment nationally among other producers like myself.”

Grams says he hears that farmers and agribusinesses are beginning to use the information in these reports to help make business decisions. He says CME Group is committed to the report for the long haul.

His hope is, “that one day folks will look at farm sentiment the same way they look at consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. We think it has some legs. We think it has an opportunity to grow and we’ve really enjoyed working with Purdue because not only are they producing a number that represents farm sentiment, but they’re also digging into what producers are saying. What is driving sentiment? What are the key elements? Whether it’s trade, or policy, or commodities prices. What is really driving that sentiment? And Purdue has been the ideal partner for that.”

View the full December ag economy barometer by visiting purdue.edu/agbarometer.